Wladyslaw Szpilman
Wladyslaw Szpilman is a renowned Polish pianist whose career and life gets completely interrupted and upturned by the Nazi invasion of Warsaw. He watches as the German regime takes over the city and dehumanizes his people, separating him from his family and forcing him into hiding. Throughout the film, he must endure horrible atrocities and conditions until he is finally saved by the Allied forces. He is a formidable and brave survivor, driven to make a life for himself, but often afraid for his life. Szpilman's main passion in life is playing the piano, and even when he does not have access to one, he imagines that he has the keys in front of him.
Mr. Szpilman
Mr. Szpilman is the patriarch of the Szpilman family. He stops the family from packing to leave the city after the initial German bombings, which leads them to lose everything. He is a brave man who meets a tragic fate when he is sent away to the death camps.
Henryk
Henryk is Wladyslaw Szpilman's brother, a free-thinking and passionate radical. Unlike Wladyslaw, Henryk is not a pacifist, and intends to find ways to fight the Germans. While he and his brother do not get along, they work hard trying to protect one another from harm.
Halina
Halina is the youngest Szpilman child. She is taken away by the Nazis to the death camps. Before she gets sent away, Wladyslaw tells her that he wishes he knew her better.
Regina
Regina is the eldest sister and a lawyer in the Szpilman family. She is someone who desires order and for the family to think through things logically and realistically.
Captain Wilm Hosenfeld
Captain Wilm Hosenfeld is a German officer who finds Szpilman hiding in a bombed-out home in the Warsaw ghetto. After hearing Szpilman play the piano he helps to hide him, brings him food, and gives the pianist his coat before leaving. He is eventually caught by the Allies and dies while a prisoner of the Soviet Army.
Dorota
Dorota is a cellist with whom Szpilman becomes acquainted before he gets sent to the ghetto. They have a mutual admiration for one another and perhaps a romantic affiliation, but they are not able to pursue this, as they are separated by the Nazis. When Szpilman escapes from the ghetto, he coincidentally ends up at Dorota's house, and she and her husband help him hide out from the Germans.
Majorek
Majorek is a friend who helps Szpilman to obtain employment papers for his aging father, and then helps him escape from the ghetto.
